Why Not Write?
Without it what would you do?
One of the things I hate about AI is everything. The other thing is that it makes people say stupid things, either by way of grand claims or by way of doomsaying. Will this technology ruin everything? Who can say. Probably not. One thing it might do though is decrease the number of people who genuinely feel the pleasure of writing. AI might be able to deliver a clean sentence or paragraph or even something longer. Who knows? I don’t know if well enough to say. But whatever it does, I don’t get a single second’s pleasure from it. Writing should be a pleasurable act that then leads to reading, another pleasurable act. Computers are nothing if not anhedonic.
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A FEUD
Darren was glad to observe the road improvement along Rte. 3 on his way to work. L.T. McMaster, the road supervisor, had always been genial, at times to a fault; when Darren had inquired about his progress, he had just smiled and kept moving. The same was true when L.T. was entered into conversation with Howard or Tracy or Kevin or Olivia or Liam or Ava or Noah or Ethan or Isabel or Mia or Lucas or Charlotte or Matt or Mary or Jim or Harper. Only Amelia could make him mad, and she made him so mad he could barely speak. He would ball his hands into fists and begin to quake. Of course they were sleeping together. Conditions had deteriorated through late winter and the widening potholes and standing water had caused four distinct accidents, two of which landed cars in the ditch, one of which resulted in a truck fire. Now Darren saw that the road was graded up to good shape, culverts were repaired, and the old stop signs, inexplicably green, had been replaced with standard red. He couldn’t wait to tell Howard and Tracy and Kevin and Olivia and Liam and Ava and Noah and Ethan and Isabel and Mia and Lucas and Charlotte and Matt and Mary and Jim. He wouldn’t tell Harper. He hated Harper. And Amelia already knew, he was sure. She had no doubt heard the news in a tender moment. [©2026 Ben Greenman/Stupid Ideas]